6 ms·

The secrets of the world's happiest cities

48 points by wallflower 13y ago

doctorcroc 13y ago
This sentiment really resonated with me: "He explained it by way of a story: sometimes, he said, he would pick up his three-year-old son from nursery and put him on the back seat of his tandem bike and they would pedal home along the South Saskatchewan river. The snow would muffle the noise of the city. Dusk would paint the sky in colours so exquisite that Judge could not begin to find names for them. The snow would reflect those hues. It would glow like the sky, and Judge would breathe in the cold air and hear his son breathing behind him, and he would feel as though together they had become part of winter itself." I've been reading The Wisdom of Insecurity, and this is a central theme that Watts discusses - the idea of being separate and removed from nature. He argues that the isolation of the self from the surroundings causes stress and insecurity . Somehow, this article is hinting towards the same concept, but from a different perspective. I wonder how in other ways we can improve our society by increasing human joy that come from experiential happiness as opposed to purely pursuing industrial optimization and efficiency.
- canoebuilder 13y ago
  On the matter of being separate and removed from nature, light pollution is something that needs to be addressed. There's nothing quite like staring into a star-filled sky. An experience had by millions upon millions of our ancestors, a regular imbuing of their souls with an infinite grandeur, has been greatly reduced in the past couple of generations. It is sad, really. In addition to bemoaning that intangible, but nonetheless real, loss. There has been recent study of the detrimental effects of light pollution on the creatures that share the planet with us. I think this is representative of an issue that is an underlying cause of a lot of modern chronic stresses. Our disrespect for all the life on earth and to future generations of that life, especially of our own species, by our falling down on the job of our stewardship of the planet. Now that's a tall order to rectify, but if our collective actions can result in emergent effects that are detrimental to our societal and planetary health, the opposite is possible as well. opposed to purely pursuing industrial optimization and efficiency. Not to take away from your general point at all, but I think the above is just something a lot of people tell themselves or that is assumed but the evidence for it is not actually there. Similarly, there seems to be a lot of, "Well, we have to do X, because we have to do Y." Where Y is not something that actually has to be done. I think a lot of things just develop a kind of inertia and go from there. Cars for example in their overbuiltness and overuse are about the farthest thing from efficient and optimized, especially when you factor in their impact on the environment, destruction of human life, and general unpleasantness.
  - MisterBastahrd 13y ago
    Try living near a bunch of refineries. At night, the only things you'll see in the sky are a few planets and bright stars.... and if there are clouds, the flickering light from the stacks as they burn off gases.
  - doctorcroc 13y ago
    I appreciate your response. Sadly, I think light pollution is one of the more tame harms we've done to this planet. There's stuff going on right now that's a lot more egregious (one which I think is going to be inevitable is the damage done by Hydrofracing, since we're not even sure of the extent). To your second point, I wasn't implying that we're even that efficient or optimized as a society - we hugely discount the negative externalities of our actions like you mentioned. What bothers me is the mentality surrounding it all. The Einstein quote pops into mind - "Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems, in my opinion, to characterize our age." In that sense, we are relentless in our pursuit of the next hot thing without asking ourselves what it will do for our collective happiness and joy in 10, 20, or god forbid 100 years from now.
gruseom 13y ago
Holy cow is this ever true: But one group of commuters report enjoying themselves. These are people who travel under their own steam [...] They walk. They run. They ride bicycles. Completely matches my experience, and it's astonishing how strong the effect is.
- canoebuilder 13y ago
  The way I've described it, you get in a car to go some where and you're constrained in a funny position in a small space. You might ostensibly have some comforts. Music to listen to a fan to blow on you. But the 'climate control' of a car can not come anywhere near matching the feeling of a body being used in the way it is meant to be used. Regardless of any comforts, depending on the trip, for a lot of people most of it is going to be spent repeatedly glancing at the clock and staring at the car in front of you. You're separated from reality in a very real sort of way. You get to where you're going and in my experience you just kind of have a blah feeling. Where as if you get on a bike to go somewhere not only is the trip there enjoyable(provided the route is not overrun by hordes of car zombies~), but when you get there you're nearly guaranteed to be in a good mood. Like "Alright, yeah let's do this!" ~even then though, it's hard to not enjoy a bike ride.
  - pif 13y ago
    You're talking about people who _can_ choose between car and bike/walk. That means a short distance from home to work, which implies no risk of being stuck along the route by an accident or bad weather. Furthermore, you get to work next to your doctor, your bank and your local services, and a couple of hours of leave are enough for your errands. That's what makes you happy, whatever means of transport you choose.
    - canoebuilder 13y ago
      "an accident or bad weather." A car somehow alleviates those concerns? There's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. -- "You're talking about people who" I was saying that when I choose between car or bike, it is most often going to be bike. I wasn't making any broad prescriptions for society, but if I were to...
brandonhsiao 13y ago
I think what surprises people is not so much the idea that walking improves your mood as the idea that your mood dramatically affects your happiness. People tend to think of happiness as a profound, grand-scheme-of-things thing. But here's a thought experiment: take a person in almost any living situation and make it so that whatever his circumstance, his minute-to-minute mood is always happy. How unhappy could such a person be? The other reason it's surprising, I think, is that while being indoors all day sucks, it's a kind of suckage you don't realize till it's fixed. When I used to stay indoors all day, I'd find myself constantly in a bad mood but not know why. It's kind of like socializing for introverts. As an immature introvert I didn't think I needed social interaction till I was virtually starved of it.
mililani 13y ago
I hate these sort of ratings. Different strokes for different folks. Personally, I would be really happy living in a desert if there were a lot of attractive women who happen to be attracted to me. But, hey, that's just me. I couldn't care less for things like transportation infrastructure, etc...
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- pavlov 13y ago
  What ratings? The article doesn't have any ranking lists, it discusses how Bogotá has become a more livable city.
- EliRivers 13y ago
  You can simulate that effect by moving to Vegas and spending a lot of time in brothels. Sounds pretty miserable to me.
- cylinder 13y ago
  I don't understand the downvotes for you sharing your opinion. While I don't feel the same way as you, there are certainly many people who share your mindset. My 70-year-old father drives 45 minutes to work in his SUV and enjoys it. Listens to NPR and enjoys his herb teas and fruits while doing it. But then again, he works outside much of the day. I think what this really boils down to is people getting sick of being confined inside spaces (office, car) at all times.
sebnukem2 13y ago
Fascinating, and so much common sense at the same time.

48 points by wallflower 13y ago

This sentiment really resonated with me: "He explained it by way of a story: sometimes, he said, he would pick up his three-year-old son from nursery and put him on the back seat of his tandem bike and they would pedal home along the South Saskatchewan river. The snow would muffle the noise of the city. Dusk would paint the sky in colours so exquisite that Judge could not begin to find names for them. The snow would reflect those hues. It would glow like the sky, and Judge would breathe in the cold air and hear his son breathing behind him, and he would feel as though together they had become part of winter itself." I've been reading The Wisdom of Insecurity, and this is a central theme that Watts discusses - the idea of being separate and removed from nature. He argues that the isolation of the self from the surroundings causes stress and insecurity . Somehow, this article is hinting towards the same concept, but from a different perspective. I wonder how in other ways we can improve our society by increasing human joy that come from experiential happiness as opposed to purely pursuing industrial optimization and efficiency.

canoebuilder 13y ago
On the matter of being separate and removed from nature, light pollution is something that needs to be addressed. There's nothing quite like staring into a star-filled sky. An experience had by millions upon millions of our ancestors, a regular imbuing of their souls with an infinite grandeur, has been greatly reduced in the past couple of generations. It is sad, really. In addition to bemoaning that intangible, but nonetheless real, loss. There has been recent study of the detrimental effects of light pollution on the creatures that share the planet with us. I think this is representative of an issue that is an underlying cause of a lot of modern chronic stresses. Our disrespect for all the life on earth and to future generations of that life, especially of our own species, by our falling down on the job of our stewardship of the planet. Now that's a tall order to rectify, but if our collective actions can result in emergent effects that are detrimental to our societal and planetary health, the opposite is possible as well. opposed to purely pursuing industrial optimization and efficiency. Not to take away from your general point at all, but I think the above is just something a lot of people tell themselves or that is assumed but the evidence for it is not actually there. Similarly, there seems to be a lot of, "Well, we have to do X, because we have to do Y." Where Y is not something that actually has to be done. I think a lot of things just develop a kind of inertia and go from there. Cars for example in their overbuiltness and overuse are about the farthest thing from efficient and optimized, especially when you factor in their impact on the environment, destruction of human life, and general unpleasantness.
- MisterBastahrd 13y ago
  Try living near a bunch of refineries. At night, the only things you'll see in the sky are a few planets and bright stars.... and if there are clouds, the flickering light from the stacks as they burn off gases.
- doctorcroc 13y ago
  I appreciate your response. Sadly, I think light pollution is one of the more tame harms we've done to this planet. There's stuff going on right now that's a lot more egregious (one which I think is going to be inevitable is the damage done by Hydrofracing, since we're not even sure of the extent). To your second point, I wasn't implying that we're even that efficient or optimized as a society - we hugely discount the negative externalities of our actions like you mentioned. What bothers me is the mentality surrounding it all. The Einstein quote pops into mind - "Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems, in my opinion, to characterize our age." In that sense, we are relentless in our pursuit of the next hot thing without asking ourselves what it will do for our collective happiness and joy in 10, 20, or god forbid 100 years from now.

gruseom 13y ago

Holy cow is this ever true: But one group of commuters report enjoying themselves. These are people who travel under their own steam [...] They walk. They run. They ride bicycles. Completely matches my experience, and it's astonishing how strong the effect is.

canoebuilder 13y ago
The way I've described it, you get in a car to go some where and you're constrained in a funny position in a small space. You might ostensibly have some comforts. Music to listen to a fan to blow on you. But the 'climate control' of a car can not come anywhere near matching the feeling of a body being used in the way it is meant to be used. Regardless of any comforts, depending on the trip, for a lot of people most of it is going to be spent repeatedly glancing at the clock and staring at the car in front of you. You're separated from reality in a very real sort of way. You get to where you're going and in my experience you just kind of have a blah feeling. Where as if you get on a bike to go somewhere not only is the trip there enjoyable(provided the route is not overrun by hordes of car zombies~), but when you get there you're nearly guaranteed to be in a good mood. Like "Alright, yeah let's do this!" ~even then though, it's hard to not enjoy a bike ride.
- pif 13y ago
  You're talking about people who _can_ choose between car and bike/walk. That means a short distance from home to work, which implies no risk of being stuck along the route by an accident or bad weather. Furthermore, you get to work next to your doctor, your bank and your local services, and a couple of hours of leave are enough for your errands. That's what makes you happy, whatever means of transport you choose.
  - canoebuilder 13y ago
    "an accident or bad weather." A car somehow alleviates those concerns? There's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. -- "You're talking about people who" I was saying that when I choose between car or bike, it is most often going to be bike. I wasn't making any broad prescriptions for society, but if I were to...

brandonhsiao 13y ago

I think what surprises people is not so much the idea that walking improves your mood as the idea that your mood dramatically affects your happiness. People tend to think of happiness as a profound, grand-scheme-of-things thing. But here's a thought experiment: take a person in almost any living situation and make it so that whatever his circumstance, his minute-to-minute mood is always happy. How unhappy could such a person be? The other reason it's surprising, I think, is that while being indoors all day sucks, it's a kind of suckage you don't realize till it's fixed. When I used to stay indoors all day, I'd find myself constantly in a bad mood but not know why. It's kind of like socializing for introverts. As an immature introvert I didn't think I needed social interaction till I was virtually starved of it.

mililani 13y ago

I hate these sort of ratings. Different strokes for different folks. Personally, I would be really happy living in a desert if there were a lot of attractive women who happen to be attracted to me. But, hey, that's just me. I couldn't care less for things like transportation infrastructure, etc...

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
pavlov 13y ago
What ratings? The article doesn't have any ranking lists, it discusses how Bogotá has become a more livable city.
EliRivers 13y ago
You can simulate that effect by moving to Vegas and spending a lot of time in brothels. Sounds pretty miserable to me.
cylinder 13y ago
I don't understand the downvotes for you sharing your opinion. While I don't feel the same way as you, there are certainly many people who share your mindset. My 70-year-old father drives 45 minutes to work in his SUV and enjoys it. Listens to NPR and enjoys his herb teas and fruits while doing it. But then again, he works outside much of the day. I think what this really boils down to is people getting sick of being confined inside spaces (office, car) at all times.

sebnukem2 13y ago

Fascinating, and so much common sense at the same time.